


Super soldier healing

by PerplexinglyParadoxialPerson



Series: Theories and meta [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Meta, Science, Super Soldier Serum (Marvel), super healing, theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26669614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerplexinglyParadoxialPerson/pseuds/PerplexinglyParadoxialPerson
Summary: A basic explanation of super soldier healing, and debunking a common trope about super healing
Series: Theories and meta [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546192
Kudos: 11





	Super soldier healing

So, a very common assumption when it comes to the serum is that when a super soldier heals, any debris in the wound will come out on its own. In some ways, that assumption makes sense; Steve has incredibly enhanced healing, and fights any harmful substance, from alcohol to bacteria, so much more efficiently than everyone else, so it makes logical sense that his body would dispose of bullets and other debris in the same way. Unfortunately, that is not how healing works, even with a large stretch.

First, let me explain something about how the serum likely changed Steve’s cells. Steve has a truly incredible healing speed, approximately six times the speed of a normal human, which means that his cells replicate at that speed as well. (I took that speed from a wiki saying that Steve healed from a gunshot after several days, which probably means about three or four, but Steve probably got out of the hospital before he was fully healed, so I would say about a week. The average person heals from that kind of wound after about six weeks.) If cell replication just went at that speed without any other changes, they would constantly be replicating, which would lead to all the empty spaces in Steve’s body (like his lungs) filling up with cells, and that would quickly kill Steve. Therefore, there must be a mechanism in his cells that keeps them from replicating until they’re needed.

Now to the actual science of how wounds heal. In normal humans, once they get a wound, blood starts to fill the wound, and dry once it touches air. A combination of dried blood cells and a protein called fibrin creates a scab, which protects the body from germs and blood loss. It usually only takes 3-5 minutes for the scab to start forming, but can take a while to fully cover the wound, especially if it is large. I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve formed scabs faster than anyone else though, because that would be an important part in keeping him on his feet through major wounds. This already forms a barrier that any debris would have to go through to get out of his body, which would be a terrible idea, and would lead to additional blood loss, which is much worse than having debris in the wound, especially because of how easily Steve fights off infections.

Then, as the scab is being formed, the damaged cells release chemicals that attract blood (and more specifically, certain types of white blood cells called neutrophils) that destroy any bacteria that managed to make its way inside, and remove dead cells and microscopic debris like dust. Then, as the white blood cells leave after about two to three days, other cells called macrophages arrive to continue cleaning debris. They also release growth factors and proteins that seem to speed up the reproduction of cells in the area, and trigger a few other processes. Collagen is produced to replace the fibrin, and the skin contracts to bring the edges of the wound closer together. 

For one, that means that it would be completely illogical for the wound to heal from the inside out, the only way that would make it possible for any debris to be pushed out by Steve’s body. For another, that means that Steve would likely not heal over as fast as we might think he would. Human wounds don’t even begin to heal properly until after two to three days, when the macrophages start arriving. That means, with Steve healing at six times the speed of a normal human, his cells would likely not begin dividing until at least eight hours have elapsed! Because Steve’s cells are not constantly dividing, like a normal human’s cells, it’s likely that Steve’s cells would need a chemical activation to start replicating.

However, it’s possible that he would heal much quicker at first, then slow down once he’s out of immediate danger. We only know the average speed of his healing after all, and not how his healing speed changes over time. Or, he could begin healing right away, because he is so much better at fighting infection than any other person, so he could afford to start healing immediately. It’s nearly impossible to know just how fast Steve heals due to insufficient information, and no further answers in official material.

In short, whether Steve heals slower or faster, it would be impossibly unlikely that debris would be pushed out of his wounds as a normal part of the healing process, due to the many risks, (like reopening a wound and bleeding out) and few rewards (due to his incredible ability to fight infection).

**Author's Note:**

> So, just so everyone knows, I will eventually be posting a look into a super soldier’s diet, what things they would need more of, if any amounts of things they need might stay the same as a normal human, that kind of thing, so keep an eye out!


End file.
